BRITAIN (THE GUARDIAN) - Dine like a gourmand with these 10 travel experiences in Europe.
1. The first Cornish pasty heritage centre, Cornwall
Whether the name is to your taste or not, Cornucopia, a multimillion-pound food attraction due to open in Cornwall this summer, will hopefully satisfy the tastebuds of foodies visiting the West Country. Just outside the town of St Austell, Cornucopia will be home to the UK's first Cornish pasty heritage centre, where visitors can try making the regional treat themselves. There will also be 19 specialist outlets selling the best of Cornish food and drink. The town is also home to the St Austell Brewery , which runs tours and has a great visitor centre.
• cornucopiacornwall.com
2. Real food adventure, Greece
Diversity is everything for this food tour, which offers travellers a mix of adventure and tastes as they make their way through the Saronic Islands and the Peloponnese. The odyssey includes a cycle trip through a pistachio farm on the island of Aegina, a home cooking lesson in Poros and a visit to an olive grove in the rugged Mani region. All this is punctuated by stopoffs at historic sights in the region, such as the Treasury of Atreus in Kardamyli and the Theatre of Epidaurus.
• From £1,650 (S$2,850) for a nine-day tour, including hotel accommodation, breakfast and some meals, but not flights, departures from May to Sept, intrepidtravel.com
3. Taste of Catalan countryside day trip, Spain
One of the new culinary experiences for 2017 from Devour Barcelona is a day trip out of the city for seasonal food festivities in the village of Alella. After visiting a Catalan bodega to sample local wines, guests indulge in the key event: an alfresco feast consisting of calçotada - that's fire-grilled spring onions dipped in romesco sauce - followed by a main course of grilled meat. Calçotadas are a regional winter food tradition "rooted in friendships and families".
• €95 (S$144) a person including transportation, guide and all food and drink. Tours run until March, devourbarcelonafoodtours.com
4. The new Parisian palate: modern tastes of the Marais, France
This small group walking tour takes travellers through one of Paris's most desirable neighbourhoods, the bobo homeland of Haut Marais. Led by a chef or food writer, the tour winds through side streets, full of chic restaurants, cafes, delis and boulangeries. It does take in the traditional, such as the Marché des Enfants Rouges , the oldest covered market in Paris, but the focus remains on the city's new food trends. Expect to visit newer establishments such as Popelini , known for its reinvention of Parisian choux pastry or Candelaria , with its Mexican tacos and hidden cocktail bar.
• €80 a person for a 2½ hour group tour, maximum six people per tour, contexttravel.com
5. An Italian food adventure
Love Prosciutto di Parma, Parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar? This tour provides the chance to indulge in some of the richest, most delicious foods found in the Emlia-Romagna region and the cities of Parma, Modena and Bologna. The self-guided driving tour includes visits to producers of these culinary delicacies, along with beautiful villages and Byzantine churches, with the option to continue your journey across the Po Delta and end the trip with two nights in Venice.
• From £965 for nine nights self-drive including B&B accommodation, three dinners and car hire, available from April 1 to Aug 6, and Aug 26 to Oct 31, inntravel.co.uk
6. Gourmet picpoul wine experience, France
Wine travel specialist Smooth Red has a number of new tours for 2017. One that stands out is its five-day trip to Languedoc. It's a chance to taste the wines of the Thau Lagoon and Pic St-Loup region, such as the world-renowned picpoul de pinet, as well as visit one of southern France's leading wineries, Château Puech-Haut. Of course, something is needed to soak up all that vino: the trip includes a three-course gourmet lunch and a visit to an oyster farm among the other culinary treats.
• From £739 a person, including B&B accommodation and return flights from the UK, smoothred.co.uk
7. Real food adventure, Portugal and Spain
Travelling along the coastline, this new food tour journeys from Santiago de Compostela, on the northern tip of Spain, down to Lisbon. Guests learn how to cook a Galician feast using fresh seafood from Vigo, go on a guided food walk of Porto, try the world-class wines in the Douro valley and stay on a farm in Alentejo. Finishing up with time to enjoy the nightlife in Lisbon , this is the perfect trip for anyone eager to enjoy the flavours of Portugal.
• From £1,480 for an eight-day tour, including hotel, farm stay and most meals, departures from June to Sept, intrepidtravel.com
8. West End gourmet, Copenhagen
Grazing through Copenhagen's coolest hangouts, the West End Gourmet tour offers a chance to get the inside track on the best of the fresh Danish food scene. Starting out at Vesterbros Torv, the tour navigates the Meatpacking district, detailing how the old factories evolved into a culinary hotspot. The three-hour tour includes non-stop snacking, including two large smørrebrod (open sandwiches), artisan cheese, gourmet chocolate and beer from a local microbrewery.
• £93 a person, copenhagen.foodtours.eu
9. Neukölln food walk and supper club, Berlin
Berlin resident Samantha Reidie set up Bite Berlin to share her passion for the city's food scene, from tours to supper clubs. At the end of January, she's launching a new tour of Neukölln that combines the two. It starts with a visit to the district's Turkish market , as well as other local businesses in the diverse neighbourhood, from delis to bakeries and a cafe run in aid of refugees now resident in Berlin. Gathering ingredients along the way, the tour concludes at Samantha's flat where the group will cook a traditional German meal together, learning about the dishes and their origins.
• €69pp with alcohol, €59 without, maximum six people per tour, biteberlin.com
10. Michelin stars in Skye, Scotland
It's definitely an indulgent trip (with a price tag to match) but those after a real treat will want to take a look at this new three-night package offered by the Isle of Skye's Kinloch Lodge - a hotel combined with a Michelin-starred restaurant. The package includes a cookery class with chef-director Marcello Tully, two dinners at Kinloch's restaurant (one with five and one with seven courses), as well as dinner at another top local restaurant Scorrybreac . Of course, it's possible to explore Skye's rich food culture, and its many fantastic local producers, independently, for those who would prefer to visit on more of a budget.
• From £819 a person for three nights, kinloch-lodge.co.uk
